Rotary wheel dresser



M h 5, 1963 L. CATALLO ETAL ROTARY WHEEL DRESSER 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 6, 1959 5 r U m E m LEO CATALLO ARTHUR T. KOHLSTEU/VZ AZAlrW March 5, 1963 1.. CATALLO ETAL 3,079,905

ROTARY WHEEL DRESSER Filed March 6, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 .Zmrenfur 5 L [0 CA 74 LL 0 ADTl/UQ 7. Ka /L5 TQUMZ March 5, 1963 CATALLO ETAL 3,079,905

ROTARY WHEEL DRESSER Filed March 6, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 [UVEHZUFE L150 CATALLO AWL/U? 7T mum?" 9011/4 3&79305 ROTARY WHEEL Ditidfiiiflii Leo Catallo and Arthur '1. liohlstrunh, Detroit, Miicln, as-

signors to Wheel Tracing Tool Corn any, Detroit, Mich a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 5, 1959, Ser. No. 797,626 2 Qlairns. ("$1 125 -11) This invention relates to grinding wheel dressing mechanisms and more particularly to an improved rotary grinding wheel dresser which is adapted to accurately form dress a grinding wheel with a minimum of attrition to the abrasive surfaces of the dressing wheel.

it has been usual in the art to form dress a grinding wheel by utilizing a plurality of single point diamond tools which are held in precise relation with respect to one another and which are rigidly afiixed to a common traversing assembly and traversed across the grinding wheel as the dresser assembly follows a highly accurate profile. It has also generally been the practice to infeed the diamond dressing tools in increments of .002 of an inch per cycle but such multiple tools dressing mechanisms are subject to unequal diamond wear and breakage ith the result that volume production from the grinding .vheels depends to a large extent upon the ability of tool set-up personnel to replace the dresser assembly containing the worn or broken diamond dressing tool without undue loss of time. Obviously, the necessity for replacement or realignment of any of the plurality of diamond dressing tools in the dresser assembly also requires the realignment and repositioning of each of the other diamond dressing tools within the dresser.

Due to the uneven wear and attrition of the dressing tools mounted in the diamond dressing assembly the dressing-in of a new grinding wheel generally results in such wear to the diamond dressing tool that it is necessary to replace the diamond tools with a second set of similar tools and to thereby necessitate the repositioning and realignment of the second set of diamond tools before grinding can resume.

it has further been found in practice that the only convenient and practical method for setting up the diamend dressing assemblies and accurately positioning the respective diamond tools within the assemblies has been trough the use of a multiple magnification comparator installed close proximity to the grinding wheel dressing mechanisms.

in order to obviate the disadvantageous features set forth above, applicant has devised a rotary form dresser comprising generally a rotatable form dressing wheel having a diamond abrasive surface formed on the periphcry thereof which has a configuration corresponding inverse y to the configuration to be formed in the grinding wheel.

The abrasive dressing wheel is operably connected to a suitable power source and is arranged to be rotated at selected intervals so that the contacting surfaces of the resser Wheel and grinding wheel at their point of tanency are moving in opposite directions. The rotary wheel dresser is also quite compact and is adapted to be a standard tool bar associated with an infeeding mcchal ism.

l-leretoiore the dressing down time for a grinding wheel being form dressed with a stationary dressing tool of a given hardness impressed on the grinding wheel at a given pressure was entirely a function of the rotational velocity of the grinding wheel so that by providing a rotary form dressing tool as is hereinaiter disclosed in detail, the time necessary for "the form dress ng operation is considerably shortened.

Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present in- 3,079,9h5 Patented Mar. 5, 1963 vention to provide a form dressing assembly for form dressing a grinding wheel which comprises generally a rotatable unitary form dressing wheel.

Another object of the present invention resides in the provision of a grinding wheel dressing mechanism which can form dress a grinding wheel in a relatively short time with a minimum of attrition to the abrasive surfaces of the wheel dresser.

A further object of the invention is to provide a rotary wheel dressing assembly of the type set forth above which is adapted to be mounted on a standard tool dresser bar associated with an ordinary infeeding mechanism.

These and other objects of the invention will appear from time to time as the following specification proceeds and with reference to the accompanying drawings, where- FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of the form dressing mechanism of the present invention shown properly positioned with respect to a grinding wheel;

FIGURE 2 is substantially a plan view of the form dressing mechanism illustrated in FIGURE 1 and showing the coaction between the surfaces of the form dressing wheel and the grinding wheel;

FLGURE 3 is a front view of the form dressing mechanisrn illustrated in FIGURE 1 showing a portion thereof cut away;

FIGURE 4 is a side elevational view of the form dressing mechanism of the present invention illustrating the coolant nozzles in partial vertical section;

FEGURE 5 is a longitudinal sectional view taken through the form dressing mechanism;

FZGURE 6 is a sectional view of the form dressing mechanism taken along lines VIVI of FIGURE 5;

FIGURE 7 is a horizontal sectional view through a form dressing mechanism constructed in accordance with the principles or the present invention which is similar in nature to FlGURE 5 but which illustrates a somewhat different embodiment thereof and which shows the rotary dressing wheel as being end mounted on a power shaft;

FIGURE 8 is a side elevation view of the second em bodiment of the present invention; and

FIGURE 9 is a vertical sectional view through the second embodiment of the form dressing mechanism illustrated in FIGURE 7.

in the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG- URES 16, a grinding wheel 19 is shown as being disposed for rotatable movement within a housing or cowling 11 and as having annular metallic wheel. flanges fitted to opposite sides thereof and encircling the grinding wheel power shaft (not shown) for supporting the grinding wheel 1%.

The housing or cowling 11 is shown as having a control panel 13 and an electrical power source 14 mounted on the upper surface thereof and as being apertured on the side wall thereof to receive an annular apertured plate 15.

A diamond bar 15 is shown as extending through the aperture 17 in the plate 15 and as interconnecting an infeeding mechanism 18 with the form dressing assembly 19 which forms the subject of the present invention.

Referring now most particularly to FIGURES 5 and 6, the form dressing assembly 1 is shown as comprising generally a multi-part housing 29 having an attachment bolt 21 secured therein which is adapted to be screw-threaded into the threaded end portion of the diamond bar 15 for rigidly securing the form dressing assembly 19 to the diamond bar 16. The gear housing 28 has an elongated cylindrical housing 22 secured thereto by means of a plurality of screws 23 which are screw-threaded into the gear housing 29, and is apertured at the outer end thereof to operably receive one end of a flexible power cable 24 which is connected at its opposite end to the output power wast-s shaft of a power source 14. The cable 24 may be secured within the housing 22 in any suitable mannerand has a rotatable flexible pnwerfshaft 25, journaled within the casing or the flenible cable 24, which terminates within the interior of the housing 2 2. g H g v The power shaft 2S is axially 'apertured as at 26 so as to receive the input end 2 7 of a worm shaft 28. V The power shaft 25 is also radially apertured as at29 to threadedly receive a set screw 30 which is arranged to be's'crewthreaded into abutment with the input end 2] of the worm shaft 28 to secure the shaft 28 'to the shaft 25 for corotatable movement therewith. V I 7 I g V aperture 31 formed within the gear housing 2!} and through which the worm shaft 28 extend-s is considerably larger than the shaft 28 and is'adapted to receive and sup port the outer ball race 32 of a self-aligning radial hear ing 33. A plurality of ball bearings 34'are disposed inter,- mediate the outer ball race 32 and an inner ball race 35 which, in turn, is secured to a diametrically enlarged portion 36- of the Worm shaft 28'. The worm shaft 28 is shaft 70 for corotata-ble movement therewith by means threaded as at 38, intermediate the input end 27 and the v diametricallyenlargfi portion 36 thereof, to threadedly receive a bearing lock nut 39 which serves to maintain a bearing lock washer 40 in engagement with theinner ball race 35. The outer end 41'of the worm shaft28 is similarly suitably journaled in a radial bearing 42 which is disposed in the gear housing against a shoulder 43 defining an aperture 44 within the housing. The radial bearing 42'i's maintained in this position by means of a cap 45 which has an annular ring '46 disposed in abutment with the bearing 42 and which is attached to the gear housing 20 by means of a plurality of screws 47. i x I g A worm 48 is secured to the worm shaft 28 by means of a pin :48 a and is disp'osed within thegear housing 20 and is arranged to mesh with th'e peripheral gear teeth 49 formed about the periphery of cooperating worm wheel 50.

The worm wheel 5 0 is secured to a worm wheel shaft "51 for cor'otatable movement "therewith by means of a pin SZeXtending through aligned apertures in the wheel 50and the shaft 51'and the worm'wheel sh aft is, in turn, suitably; journaled within radial bearings 53 disposed within coa riallyaligned apertures 54 in opposite walls of the gear ho'usi'ng'20. The radial bearing 53 at the outer end of the wormlwheel shaft 51 is secured within its respective aperture 54 in the gear housing 20 by means of'a lnck screw washer and 'a lock 'screw 55 and 56, respectively, ina'rnanner'similar to that described with respect to theradialbearing'33, 'A'c'ap' 57 is secured, "like the cap 45, to the'gear'hou'sing 20 by means of -a;plurality of screws12'0 'whicharescreW-threaded into the side wan-er thelgear housing 20. a Y

The bearing 53 at the opposite end of the shaft "51 is disposed inabu'tment'with an annular shouldered formed about its respective aperture 54am rota'tablysupport's one end of the worm wheel shaft '51. aperture 59' is formed within a spindle housing 69 andis disposed coaxiaily'with theapertures54and'has a'r'adial bearing 61 disposed therein which'is space' d fr in'the'radial' bearing '53 by'mean's of an annular bearing spacer 62. Apair'of self-aligning radia1bear in'gs"3 ai1d64 are similarly disposed, 'withinan aperture 65 formed an the'opposite side of the spindle housing 60 whiehis concentrically aligned with the apertures 54 and 59 and are maintained abutment with an annular shoulder formed-integrally with the spindle housing in a manner-which will her einafter'be del scribed. A cap '121,"'li ke thecap "5 7," is also screw-threaded into the spindle honsing 'oqtocover the-bearings and associated components adjacent'thereto.

spindleshaft 70*is disposed within the spindle hou'sas fifl i umele 1 th xed e bearings 3 61, 3 and '64 and'has a-radially reduced inputiend portion 71 which "extends within-an elongated bore 72 in the worm wheel shaft 51. A key 73 is suitably disposed within reof a key 81 and has its peripheral surface 82 contoured inversely from the desired contour to be formed in "the grinding wheel. The form dressing wheel 80 abuts, at one side thereof, a collar 83 which is formed integrally with the spindle shaft 70 and is maintained in engagement therewith by a pair of form wheel loci; nuts 84 which are threadedly mounted on the spindle shaft 70.

It will further be noted that a pair of spindle bearing "seals 86 and '87 are affi red within the spindle housing about the spindle shaft on opposite sides of the form dressing wheel Stlfwhich serve to prevent foreign particles from entering the radial bearings. The spindle bearing seals may, of course, be of any suit-able design and would preferably have a resilient member forming a part thereof adapted to fit about the spindle shaft 70.

As shown most clearly in FIGURES 3 and 4, a coolant housing 90 extends about the form dressing wheel and has a pair of coolant nozzles 91 and 92 connected thereto which have elongated passages 93 formed therein having a width preferably substantially equal to the Width of the form dressing wheel .80. Coolant, such as Water, is supplied under pressure, in a manner which is not shown, to the coolant housing and from'there travels to the coolant nozzles 91 and 92 and through the passages 93 so that streams of coolant flow from above and below the point of tangency of the form dressing wheel 80 and the grinding Wheel 10 which are aimed substantially 'at that point of contact to reduce the heat generated by friction "between the coacting members.

It will be understood that the worm 48 may be provided with either right or left hand'threads to thereby effect rotatable'movement of the form dressing wheel 80 in the same, or opposite direction as or to the grinding wheel 10 The peripheral surface of the form dressing wheel 80 may be'impregnated with any suitable abrasive such as, for instance a diamond abrasive and the wheel maybe formed of any desired contour conforming to the contour of the desired product'of the grinding wheel. It will further be noted that due to the compact size of' th'e form dressing wheel assembly, the form dresser maybe atfixed to the usual diamond bar 16 extending from the infeeding mechanism 18, intermediate the grinding wheel 10 and the usual cowling 'or housing 11.

7 Referring now more particularly to the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGURES 7, 8 and 9, the

composition of the rotary wheel dressing assembly is substantially the same as that illustrated in FIGURES l -6 but'the rotary dressing wheel is mounted in cantilever fashion 'onthe outer free end of the output power shaft 101 which is, in turn, openably connected to the worm wheel 102 and which is suitably journaled withinthe housing 103 by means of a plurality of radial bearings 104, 105, and'106. I In this second embodiment of the invention the power shaft 101 is provided with a collar 108 which provides an abutment means for the rotary wheel The dresser wheel 160 is keyed to the shaft 101 for corotatable movement therewith by means of a key 109 and 108 by means of a lock screw mounted on the threaded outer the shaft 101. As with the em- 110 which is 'threadedly free end portion 111 of to maintain the inner ball races of the beardresser 109. i

5 bodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGURES l-6, a spindle bearing seal 112 is fitted about the shaft 101 on the collar 108 and is disposed intermediate the radial bearings 104, 105 and 106, and the dresser wheel 100 to prevent the entrance of foreign particles from the dresser wheel to the area in which the bearings are disposed.

A pair of coolant nozzles 113 and 114- are disposed above and below the point of tangency of the rotary dresser wheel and the grinding wheel and are each communicable with a coolant housing 115 which, in turn, is supplied with coolant through a coolant supply pipe 116.

Since the means for positioning and properly securing the bearings and their respective seals within the housing in this second embodiment of the invention is substantially the same as has hereinbefore been described with respect to the embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG- URES 1-6, such will not hereinafter be further described.

It will be understood that it would be preferable to form the dressing wheel of a width slightly greater than the width of the grinding wheel and, further, that it may be found desirable to connect a plurality of dressing wheels to a common shaft or to interconnected shafts to dress a single wheel or a plurality of grinding wheels simultaneously from the same power source. Such modifications could, of course, be effected without departing from the scope of the present invention.

It will, therefore, be understood that these embodiments of the invention have been used for illustrative purposes only and that various modifications and variations in the present invention may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts thereof.

We claim as our invention:

1. The combination with a grinding wheel assembly, including an independently driven rotatably mounted grinding wheel, a housing therefor having an opening therethrough for access to the face of said wheel, and an independently supported infeed mechanism having a bar the inner end of which freely extends through said opening toward the face of said wheel, a form dresser assembly rigidly carried by said bar end for movement therewith within said housing, said form dresser assembly comprising a rotatable power shaft having its axis in operative relationship to the axis of said grin-ding wheel, an abrasive form dressing wheel mounted on said shaft for rotation therewith, power means mounted outside of said housing, a flexible power transmission shaft extending from said power means through said housing and driving means directly interconnecting said flexible shaft and said power shaft to drive the latter and said form dressing wheel independently of the driving of said grinding wheel to form dress said grinding wheel, said flexible power transmission shaft accommodating itself to the movement of said bar end and said form dresser assembly.

2. The combination defined by claim 1 in which the abrasive form dressing wheel is mounted at a free end of said rotatable power shaft.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,126,023 Johnson J an. 26, 1915 1,753,448 Smith Apr. 8, 1930 2,237,974 Wainwright Apr. 8, 1941 2,436,527 Polk Feb. 24, 1948 2,555,852 Hawley June 5, 1951 2,585,990 Baldenhofer Feb. 19, 1952 2,601,290 Hopkins June 24, 1952 2,778,170 Flanders Ian. 22, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 518,019 Great Britain Feb. 15, 1940 OTHER REFERENCES Article NT-2l8, Industrial Diamond Review, page 5 8 March 1956, vol. 16. 

1. THE COMBINATION WITH A GRINDING WHEEL ASSEMBLY, INCLUDING AN INDEPENDENTLY DRIVEN ROTATABLY MOUNTED GRINDING WHEEL, A HOUSING THEREFOR HAVING AN OPENING THERETHROUGH FOR ACCESS TO THE FACE OF SAID WHEEL, AND AN INDEPENDENTLY SUPPORTED INFEED MECHANISM HAVING A BAR THE INNER END OF WHICH FREELY EXTENDS THROUGH SAID OPENING TOWARD THE FACE OF SAID WHEEL, A FORM DRESSER ASSEMBLY RIGIDLY CARRIED BY SAID BAR END FOR MOVEMENT THEREWITH WITHIN SAID HOUSING, SAID FORM DRESSER ASSEMBLY COMPRISING A ROTATABLE POWER SHAFT HAVING ITS AXIS IN OPERATIVE RELATIONSHIP TO THE AXIS OF SAID GRINDING WHEEL, AN ABRASIVE FORM DRESSING WHEEL MOUNTED ON SAID SHAFT FOR ROTATION THEREWITH, POWER MEANS MOUNTED OUTSIDE OF SAID HOUSING, A FLEXIBLE POWER TRANSMISSION SHAFT EXTENDING FROM SAID POWER MEANS THROUGH SAID HOUSING AND DRIVING MEANS DIRECTLY INTERCONNECTING SAID FLEXIBLE SHAFT AND SAID POWER SHAFT TO DRIVE THE LATTER AND SAID FORM DRESSING WHEEL INDEPENDENTLY OF THE DRIVING OF SAID GRINDING WHEEL TO FORM DRESS SAID GRINDING WHEEL, SAID FLEXIBLE POWER TRANSMISSION SHAFT ACCOMMODATING ITSELF TO THE MOVEMENT OF SAID BAR END AND SAID FORM DRESSER ASSEMBLY. 